Nutrition:
What to Eat to Be Healthy
107
CHAPTER
11
SICKNESSES CAUSED BY NOT EATING WELL
Good food is needed for a person to grow well, work hard,
and stay healthy. Many common sicknesses come from not
eating enough.
A person who is weak or sick because he does not eat
enough, or does not eat the foods his body needs, is said
to be poorly nourished—or malnourished. He suffers from
malnutrition.
Poor nutrition can result in the following health problems:
in children
• failure of a child to grow or gain
weight normally (see p. 297)
• slowness in walking, talking, or
thinking
• big bellies, thin arms and legs
• common illnesses and
infections that last longer, are
more severe, and more often
cause death
• lack of energy, child is sad and does
not play
• swelling of feet, face, and hands, often
with sores or marks on the skin
• thinning, straightening, or loss of hair,
or loss of its color and shine
• poor vision at night, dryness of eyes,
blindness
in anyone
• weakness and tiredness
• loss of appetite
• anemia
• sores in the corners of the mouth
• painful or sore tongue
• ‘burning’ or numbness of the feet
Although the following problems may have other causes, they are sometimes
caused and are often made worse by not eating well:
• diarrhea
• frequent infections
• ringing or buzzing in the ears
• headache
• bleeding or redness of the gums
• skin bruises easily
• nosebleeds
• stomach discomfort
• dryness and cracking of the skin
• heavy pulsing of the heart or of the
‘pit’ of the stomach (palpitations)
• anxiety (nervous worry) and various
nerve or mental problems
• cirrhosis (liver disease)
Poor nutrition during pregnancy causes weakness and anemia in the mother
and increases the risk of her dying during or after childbirth. It is also a cause of
miscarriage, or of the baby being born dead, too small, or with a disability.